Up-and-coming rugby league player Tayla Peters has scored a coveted contract to represent one of New South Wales’ famous clubs.
The 16-year-old rising star halfback and goalkicker has just finished year 12 at Botany Downs Secondary College (BDSC) and heads to the hallowed Kogarah Oval turf of the St George Illawarra Dragons in the new year.
Her signing comes after another exceptional year of top-class performances for multiple club and rep league sides.
Last year, the Times reported on Tayla’s feats when she played in four teams in the two rugby codes, though this year she’s dropped union to solely focus on league and played in more teams with consistent stand-out performances.
The contract at the St George Illawarra Dragons has been arranged by Tayla’s agent, John Fadel of EXCEL Sports Management Australia.
It runs until May 31, 2026, and she’ll be in the club’s Lisa Fiolla under-17s grade squad, two levels lower than NRLW.
“John got me a contract with the Dragons that’s very good and I appreciate it,” Tayla says.
“I want to make the NRLW and make my family proud, especially my Nana, Valda Chamberlain.
“I’m just nervous because mum and dad aren’t coming. It’s just me.”
Her mother, Bianca, says Tayla will be staying with a good friend’s family in Sydney, and the club will also have its responsibilities for the east Aucklander teenager while she’s there.
“I enjoy league a lot. I leave in the first week of January. I’m not going back to school next year,” says the college graduate with her NCEA level two grades.
During the year, her Pakuranga Jaguars under-18s side had another great season, making it to the finals, beating Richmond Rovers in the semi-finals, then losing narrowly to the competition’s dominant team Mangere East Hawks 26-16 in the final.
Then came representative honours, firstly for Counties Manukau under-16s who won their national championship beating Auckland Vulcans in the final, with Tayla chosen as MVP (most valuable player), and also for the tournament team of the best players in their positions.
She also turned out at the under-17s Māori nationals, again making the tournament team that went onto to lose a match against Samoa.
In 2024, Tayla represented the first New Zealand Warriors under-15 girls’ side, and her association with the Auckland club continued this year playing in their first under-19s team.
They played curtainraisers before the Warriors’ NRLW team’s matches at Hamilton, Tayla’s first experience of playing in a stadium: “That was cool.”
She also represented Auckland in the Georgia Hale grade competition for under-17s.
The opportunity to take up the Dragons’ contract is another step in Tayla’s journey goal of getting to play in the NRLW.
But she and her family are also realistic that she must also have other ideas for another vocation if it doesn’t work out.
Bianca says: “That’s one very good thing about the league environment and from the NZ Rugby League, when she makes these rep teams they have meetings about plans in life – an A-plan for playing, but your B-plan is your main one for another career.
“They come out with stats on that and it’s unbelievable – just how many get a contract and go through and actually play NRLW.”
Tayla also represented BSDC in touch and tag this year, and for the 10s rugby side that made the Auckland secondary schools’ final in only their second year and were beaten by St Mary’s College.
- For an earlier Times’ story about Tayla Peters’ oval-ball sporting exploits, read https://www.times.co.nz/news/taylas-four-teams-in-one-season/
